Snap fastener attaching unit



May 4, 1965 E. MELANsoN ETAL 3,181,989

SNAP FASTENER ATTACHING UNIT Filed May ll, 1962 5 Shee'cS-Shee'l 1 Invenors E'vere Melua/son Wa ier 6'. Bachman y ff up az-ty.

May 4, l1965 E. MELANsoN ETAL 3,181,989

SNAP FASTENER ATTACHING UNIT Filed May l1, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ILNIIH Invenorsj Evere Meansou Waer 5. Bachmann,

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May 4, 1965 E. MELANSON ETAL 3,181,989

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Unted States Patent O 3,181,989 SNAI FASTENER ATTACHING UNIT Everett Melanson, Wakefield, and Walter S. iiachman,

Arlington, Mass., assigncrs to United-Carr Incorporated, a corporation of Delaware Filed May 11, `1962, Ser. No. 194,098 3 Claims. (Cl. 156-566) This invention aims to provide improvements in a unitary device for applying snap fasteners (preferably heat scalable plastic snap fastener studs or sockets) which unitary device may be readily attached to existing heat sealing machines used in the manufacture of heat sealed articles of commerce. Such articles may be clothing (baby pants, raincoats, etc.) -basically formed of heat scalable plastic sheeting material, containers (purses, billfolds, card holders, etc.) and, in fact, any heat sealed article of commerce basically formed from sheet plastic material that needs to be heat sealed in the seams and at openings or plackets and to have a fastener or fasteners applied thereto.

An object of the invention is to provide a self-contained unit that may be easily attached, as by bolts, to a piece of existing heat sealing equipment so that the heat sealing equipment may attach, by heat seal methods, plastic snap fastener studs or sockets, preferably from a continuous strip of plastic sockets or studs fed into the unit and the fastener automatically severed from Ithe strip by `the construction and operation of the unit when the complete machine is in the process of heat sealing a part of the article of commerce.

A further object of the invention is to provide a selfcontained unit that is of much simpler construction than anything heretofore known either as a separate unit or as a part of a complete fastener attaching machine.

In the drawings which illustrate the basic unit forming the invention in attachment with a movable and a iixed portion of the complete heat sealing machine:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the novel unit showing, in combination therewith, a part of the lower supporting part of the machine upon which is rested the article of commerce, and a portion (in cross section) of the downwardly movable part of the basic heat sealing machine;

FIG. 2 is an elevation similar to FIG. l with the apy paratus in fastener applying and heat sealing position;

FIG. 3 is -a section taken on the line 3 3 of FIG. 2, also showning a part of a strip of fasteners in conjunction with the unit;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the unit and a portion of the basic machine as viewed from the left of FIG. l;

FIG. 5 is a section on the line 5 5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a rear View of the construction shown in FIG. 1 the Strip of fasteners being omitted;

FIG. 7 is a View similar to FIG. 6 with the parts of the machine in fastener applying position, the fastener being omitted and a part of a back plate of the frame broken away to show the rotary member operating latch;

FIG. 8 is an elevational View similar to FIG. 7 with the unit and frame portion of the machine partially returned to its up position, the rotary fastener applying member being in contact with the work; and

FIG. 9 is a bottom plan view of the device shown in FIG. 1 above the material supporting part of the machine.

For convenience the sealing bar of the basic machine is omitted from FIGS. 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.

It is known that snap fastener attaching machines for electronically heat sealing plastic snap fastener studs and socket members to articles of commerce are now in use.

These machines have been used by various manufacturers in addition to other heat sealing machines by `which the articles of commerce were put together. This means that a manufacturer is confronted with additional expensive apparatus adding to the cost of manufacture of their salable articles.

It is the intention of the present invention to supply a relatively simple fastener attaching unit that may be easily and quickly attached to the existing heat sealing unit to eliminate the extra relatively expensive so-called fastener attaching machines. For instance, in FIG. l there is shown a portion of a frame 1 of a heat sealing machine that may be used to heat seal a seam or the edge of an opening of a garment such as a plastic raincoat, and to this frame 1 there is attached the self-contained unit of the invention described herein.

This unit has a frame 2 which may be made up of one or more pieces and is shown as secured to the main heat sealing machine movable frame 1 by bolts 3. At the lower portion of FIG. 1 is shown a bed portion 4 of the main machine which may serve as one of the heat seal electrodes, and is stationary. On this bed portion 4 is supported the article of manufacture herein shown as a portion of any material 5 .to which may be electronically heat sealed a snap fastener member at the same time that the material at the edge is being electrically sealed.

The simple unit of the invention is provided with a rotary member 6 mounted upon a shaft '7, or other suitable support (FIGS. 3 and 5), which shaft 7 is slidably mounted in slots S-S at opposite sides of the frame member 2. The rotary member is normally moved to a down position by a shoe member 10 (FIGS. 3 and 5) which bears upon pins 11 spaced about the rotary member and pressed against the pins 1.1 by a compression spring 12. The shoe 10 is mounted upon a pair of sliding pins 13-13 (FIG. 5) which may move up and down in bores 214-114 in the frame member 3.

The rotary member 6 has a plurality of peripherally arranged applier or socket members 15 (FIGS. l and 3) that are so shaped that they will receive either a plastic snap fastener stud member or a. plastic snap fastener socket member depending upon which is to be applied.

The particular unit illustrated and described is preferably constructed to feed snap fasteners from a strip, and in FIG. 5 there is shown snap fastener sockets 16 in strip form connected by narrow shearable or breakable portions 17. This strip of fasteners is initially hand fed from a reel (not shown) into the tool as shown in FIG. 3 and then as the rotary part of the tool rotates, the fastener will progressively move around the tool in the sockets 15. In this connection a strip of fasteners pass under a nger 1S (FIG. 8) with a tapered surface facing a rotary tool between the shoe 10 and the rotary member 6. Once the rotary member is threaded with the fasteners the operation continues and, as the rotary member rotates, the severablc or breakable portions 17 will be stretched to separate and each fastener will then become an individual element located in a socket 15 of the rotary member 6. In order to insure separating of the fastener members in the strip there is provided a cutting member which may be in the nature of a standard sharp razor blade 19 clamped in place on the frame by a clamping member 2t), held in place by a screw 21 as shown in FIGS. l and 3. In connection with this, at given spaces around the outer surface of the rotary member, there is provided grooves 22 into which the blade 19 may enter each time that the unit is operated so that if a snap fastener member has not been pulled free from the strip the blade 19 will `cut through the connecting portion 17 at the Ipoint shown in FIG. 3.

It should be borne in mind that an important feature of the invention is the fact that the operation of the main machine provides the power for operation of the novel fastener applying unit and no extra mechanically, electrically or air operated element is necessary. In this conansioso E nection it should be understood that when the frame 1 of the main machine is moved by its power opreating unit (not shown), to force it `toward the bed portion d, the attaching unit will move into engagement with the work K or article of manufacture 5. Thus the rotary member with a plastic fastener member at its lower end socket will first contact the material 5 and as the operation of the main machine continues the frame '7 of the unit will move downwardly due to the sliding arrangement of the shaft 7, shoe and pins 13 previously described. Prior to returning upward movement of the main machine frame member 1 the heat sealing of the fastener to the article of manufacture is completed and the movable parts of the machine return to their normal positions ready for the next application of a snap fastener.

It will of course be apparent that it is necessary to rotate the rotary member that carries the snap fastener one step at a time during each cycle operation of the machine. This can be accomplished in any suitable manner, by rotation causing means of any suitable construction, but there is illustrated a latch member 22 (FG. 7) slidably and laterally movably mounted in the frame member 2. This latch member 22 is located in the path of the rotating pins 11 and is normally pressed upwardly. The latch member 22 is sort of U-shaped and is normally pressed upwardly by a compression spring 23 held in place on a pin 2d. The latch member 22 is also pressed into lateral pin engaging position by a spring pressed hinged finger ZS pivotally mounted in the frame 2 on a pivot 26 and operated by a i spring 27 all as best shown in FlG. 9. A cover plate 28 (FIGS. 6, 7, and 8) is provided for accessibility to the latch 22, etc. and held in place by a screw 29.

Thus, when the unit moves downwardly against the work, the rotary member slides upwardly and a pin engages over the latch 22 so that as the frame of the unit n moves upwardly and the rotary member stays in a down- Ward position during the return operation, the latch 22 pushes on the -pin and rotates the rotary member one step so that the next plastic fastener member will be in an applying position.

ln the particular unit construction illustrated the pins 11 also serve another useful function in that they are engaged by the shoe 12 and provide at all times for a space between the face 29 of the shoe 12 and the outer face Sil of a socket portion of the rotary member 6 so that the fasteners are not pinched at any time and can move freely during rotation of the rotary member all as illustrated in FIG. 5 of the drawings.

lt should be understood that the invention illustrated and described herein is particularly adapted to various types of existing heat sealing equipment for the manufacture of articles from heat sealed plastic sheeting and one or more units may be incorporated into the basic machine depending on how many article of manufacture. 1t should also be understood that the unit may be attached either to a movable head of the basic machine or to a stationary bed as required. ln this connection `there isillustratcd in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 a unit which is attached to the upper movable frame 1 and a portion of a sealing'bar 31 is illustrated to show how a bar seal may be made at the same time that a fastener is being attached to the article 5. There is also shown (diagrammatically) a high frequency power supply unit 32 connected by one wire 33 to the movable head of frame 1 and another wire 34 to the fixed bed portion 4 as best illustrated in FIG. 1.

In order that anyone skilled in the art may understood the operation of the invention, it will now be described as used in one type of machine which may used in the manufacture of a plastic raincoat. In this ycase only a single uni-t for attaching a snap fastener soc/cet is illustrated, but anyone skilled inthe art will understand that ll at the proper distances for application of fasteners at the same time as the bar seal 31 is sealing, for instance, the y 'front of the raincoat.

snap fasteners are required on the cation on or relative to the machine.

Assuming that the machine is now ready for operation the operator inserts the garment, or portion of the garment 5, in position on the bed 4 with a fold in the material as best shown in FIG. 3.V With the material. held in position the starter switch (not shown) for the machine is operated and the head or frame 1` of the machine moves downwardly from the position shown in FIG. 1 tothe position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. It should, of course, be understood that the fastener strip has been previously fed into the bar through an opening 35. The reel from which these fasteners are supported and fed is not shown but can be supported at any suitable lo- As the rotary attaching tool moves downwardly with the entire attaching unit and the movable frame of the machine 1 of the socket members 1o of the snap fasteners is moved by the applier or socket member 15 into contact with the work material 5 and then as the movement continues, the unit frame 2 moves relative to the rotary attaching element because of the shaft 7 and slots 8 8, thereby permitting the latch member 22 to snap under a pin 11 carried by the rotary attaching tool as shown in FIG. 7. At about this time the electronic part of the equipment operates through its connections with the frame 1 and the base 4 to heat seal the fastener socket in position as will be understood by anyone skilled in the art. It will also be noted ,(FIG. 3) that the heat sealing bar 31 has made contact with the Work article 5 ,and seals the fold along its entire length so that both sealing operations are accomplished by a single operation of the machine. Thereafter the movable frame 1 starts upwardly from the position shown in FIGS. 2, 3,

and 7 and a latch 22 operating upon the pin 11 causes rotation of the rotary attaching member to the next fastener applying position and the parts of the equipment finally resume their positions shown in FIG. 1, thereby completing a cycle of the operation of the machine.

During the downward movement of the elements of the device, the knife blade 19 shears one fastener from the strip at the severable portion 17, if the severable portion has not already broken during the slightY stretching there-y of, as the fastener members are pressed one at a time into the sockets 15 by the finger 28 as shown in FIG. 3. In other words, the knife blade operation is merely insurance that the parts will be separated before they are applied to the article of manufacture.

While there is shown one unit of the invention which is made up of relatively simple parts that serve their various functions during a complete up and down (or vice versa) operation of the movable parts of the machine, it should be understood that any other suitable arrangement of parts for bringing about the same results are contemplated. The most important idea that is intended to be conveyed to those skilled in the art by the drawings and the above description is the simplicity of a selfcontained unit which is more or less self-operating as the basic machine operates. Such a device is proving commercially successful at the present time. It is particularly adaptable to various types of equipment now in use by manufacturers so that a manufacturer may use one or more of these units which may be easily applied and adjusted with relation to the basic machine and to each other so that it is unnecessary for that same manufacturer to seal portions of his garments or other articles of manufacture and then vby a separate machine or mag ferred embodiment of the invention by various figures f other units may be suitably spaced along the movable head showing the operation thereof,V it should be runderstood that the invention is best defined by the following claims.

We claim: 1. A fastener applying unit for use with a platen press i comprisingy a frame having a surface adapted for attachment to a working face of a first platen of the platen press, a rotary fastener carrying memberA mounted'on said frame, said rotary fastener carrying member having its axis of rotation lying parallel to the said surface of said frame and having a series of fastener carrying applier elements spaced around said rotary member, said rotary member mounted for reciprocal movement toward and away from said surface, a latch mounted on said frame, latch engaging means spaced around said rotary member for cooperation with said latch for causing rotation of said rotary member, said latch including a cam surface, and first urging means associated with said latch for maintaining said latch and returning said latch to an extended position.

2. A fastener applying unit as set forth in claim 1 wherein said rotary fastener carrying member is engaged with a second urging means which acts thereupon to normally maintain and return said rotary fastener carrying member to a reciprocable position away from said frame surface.

3. A fastener applying unit as Set forth in claim 2 wherein said latch means includes a stop surface in addition to said cam surface and whereby said latch engaging means engages said cammed surface on movement of the rotary member toward the said surface `of the frame member against the action of the second urging means and whereby the latch engaging means engages the said stop surface on the return of the rotary member under the iniluence of the second urging means to thereby rotate the rotary fastener carrying member.

References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,482,537 9/49 Bustamante 1-380 EARL M. BERGERT. Pmmzv Examiner. 

1. A FASTENER APPLYING UNIT FOR USE WITH A PLATEN PRESS COMPRISING A FRAME HAVING A SURFACE SADAPTED FOR ATTACHMENT TO A WORKING FACE OF A FIRST PLATEN OF THE PLATEN PRESS, A ROTARY FASTENER CARRYING MEMBER MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME, SAID ROTARY FASTENER CARRYING MEMBER HAVING ITS AXIS OF ROTATION LYING PARALLEL TO THE SAID SURFACE OF SAID FRAME AND HAVING A SERIES OF FASTENER CARRYING APPLIER ELEMENTS SPACED AROUND SAID ROTARY MEMEBER, SAID ROTARY MEMBER MOUNTED FOR RECIPROCAL MOVEMENT TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID SURFACE, A LATCH MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME, LATCH ENGAGING MEANS SPACED AROUND SAID ROTARY MEMBER FOR COOPERATION WITH SAID LATCH FOR CAUSING ROTATION OF SAID ROTARY MEMBER, SAID LATCH INCLUDING A CAM SURFACE, AND FIRST URGING MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID LATCH FOR MAINTAINING SAID LATCH AND RETURNING SAID LATCH TO AN EXTENDED POSITION. 